Cut and Level Mixing

I received a question from Flash at Flashpoint Studios regarding the differences between adjusting levels in Nuendo.

One way is to use the objects in the arrangement window and raise and lower them there… the other is to use the mixer and raise and lower the levels in the mixer.

Here is the difference:

If you raise/lower the level in the arrangement window (i.e. the objects) you are increasing/decreasing the level BEFORE it hits the mixer and the plugins. The advantage of doing this is that you can smooth out the levels before they hit a compressor… in effect making the compressor not work so hard and also making it less likely to hear the compressor work. If you are wanting to NOT hear a compressor work, then this is the best choice.

If you raise/lower the level in the mixer, you are changing the levels AFTER the plugins. The advantage of doing this is that you can keep the effect of a compressor working but adjust the level of the sound lower/higher while keeping the compressor effect. If you are WANTING to hear the compressor work, then this is the best choice.

FWIW I always adjust levels in the arrangement window for constant level… then I use the mixer as a simple overall level control.

This generally makes my projects sound like I didn’t use plugins… Which is always a good thing.

Jingle Jangle Christmas

When I was younger (many years ago and more than likely before many of you were even born) I used to dream of being able to play all of the musical parts that I heard in my head onto some kind of mechanism that would play them back as I heard them.

I used to dream about doing this while I lived at my parents house in Missouri.

Sitting in my bedroom, I would listen to the sounds in my head and imagine them being playing all together at once.

It was a dream that would not be realized until many years later when my friend Gary Powell installed a complete MIDI studio in his home and invited me to use it.

Gary let me use his MIDI studio to compose and arrange the sounds that I heard in my head starting in 1986. In fact, I recorded my very first complete MIDI CD at his studio and titled it “Family Portrait”. His generosity is something that I will always be grateful to him for. Words cannot express what that experience did for me and my musical growth.

Armed with this knowledge about the capabilities of MIDI and bursting with a desire to own my own MIDI studio, I purchased tons of my own MIDI gear for my use here at Electric LarryLand.

It didn’t take much for me to be inspired enough to write and record songs at my newly equipped MIDI capable studio. I wrote many many tunes during those days.

In 1999, I was inspired to write a Christmas song entitled “Jingle Jangle”. The tune was loosely based on a style similar to Mannheim Steamroller. However, it doesn’t really sound like them at all.

I’ll let you be the judge of what you think it sounds like.

Enjoy!

Cut That EQ!

EQ is an essential part of mixing used in professional audio work.

Most engineers will grab an EQ knob and start turning until it sounds right. And there is nothing wrong with that approach.

Generally, an inexperienced engineer will ‘add’ frequencies in an EQ device in order to make the track sound ‘brighter’ or give it more ‘body’ or any of about 10,000 terms people use to describe what they are wanting.

However, an experienced engineer knows that the first place to start with EQ is to ‘cut’ frequencies.

The reason for this is that generally modern tracks are very ‘thick’ sounding and there is too much audio data for the amount of sonic space available. Cutting frequencies tends to ‘clean up’ a mix to allow for tracks to live together in harmony instead of fighting each other for space.

Another good practice is to roll off sub-bass frequencies in order to clean up the low end and make room for the Kick Drum or Bass Guitar.

I do this almost always for anything that might have sub-sonic frequencies that do not really need to be there for the track to sound right.

An example would be a vocal track… rarely (if ever) does the voice produce anything that is usable or necessary in that range. So using a ‘Hi Pass’ filter for vocal tracks is very common practice.

Finally, when cutting background vocals, it is a good idea to run them through a common group channel and EQ that group channel so that you conserve the amount of processing done by the audio computer and to place the background vocal parts in an area of the mix that does not compete with the lead vocal or backing tracks.

Notice that I have chosen to use both a ‘Hi Pass’ filter and also a ‘Hi Frequency Shelving’ EQ for the background vocals.

This has the effect of making the background vocals sound very ‘airy’ and keeps them out of the way of the lead vocal and other instruments.

Background Vocals and Tracks

It is not unusual to record 24 tracks of instruments when doing a typical pop song.

But it is unusual to record 24 additional tracks of just background vocals. This is what was required for a song that I am currently working on.

In fact, there was so many tracks used on this song, that even when they were minimized in size to their smallest setting, and even keeping them in their respective folders, they would all not fit onto my 1600 x 1200 screen that I am using.

Here is a screen capture of my Nuendo machine with the song loaded. There are tons of tracks.

This simply could not have been done without spending tons of money to go along with the tracks before the advent of digital recording.

Thank goodness for digital!

And to top it all off, everything is being done on one computer. It’s my AMD 64 computer that I got from AMD as an endorsement.

Of course, it’s a very very fast computer, but the fact that it can even be done on one computer now simply amazes me.

I remember when you could only get 24 tracks on a 2 inch tape… and each tape cost $150 and you only got 15 minutes worth of recording on it.

Times have sure changed.

Transfer Progress

The transfer from cassettes to computer is going very well.

I’m using an RME MultiFace audio interface to convert the audio into digital form and an older version of Samplitude to record the data onto my laptop computer.

It has come as a complete surprise to me as to how much data I actually have to transfer.

In my mind, I was thinking it was a few cassettes that had original material on them… but so far it has turned out to be over 35 cassettes and there are still more that have not been transferred.

For many years, I recorded ideas onto tape. Sometimes waking up in the middle of the night with an idea and then turning on the cassette recorder to document the idea I had heard in my mind.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I must have known that my writing efforts would have been heard by someone eventually… but my conscious mind did not think about it much. I just recorded whatever the idea was and basically forgot about it once it was on tape.

But thankfully, my years of ideas recordings are starting to pay off. I am using the ideas stored on these tapes as foundations for the songs that David Wilcock and I are using in our new project “Wanderer Awakening”.

It appears that there is enough material to make three or four completely new projects from these ideas. As I stated in an earlier post, this is a gold mine of song ideas on these cassettes.

I can’t wait for you to hear these songs. The chord structures are unique, the rhythms feel good, and the lyrics are embedded with concepts most people do not bother to think about.

This is truly my life’s calling. But I had not realized this until I started this transfer process. Everything leading up to this process has been about the preparation of these song ideas and their integration into structure that can inspire the listener into inevitable action.

This is a mouthful… I know. But an explanation will be coming.

More to come…

Goodbye Nakamichi

In 1990, when I had more money than common sense, I bought a top-of-the-line cassette deck from Nakamichi for around $1000.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a fantastic and great sounding cassette deck. In fact, in critical listening tests more people could not tell the difference between masters and cassette copies on most common listening environments. (you could using studio monitors, but not in cars)

Since I have found essentially a gold mine worth of original material recently on cassettes, I have been transferring the material onto a computer while David and I have been working on other things.

Unfortunately, yesterday during one of the transfers, the Nakamichi stopped working. I had barely gotten 5 cassettes done and it was to be no more.

So I called my friend Stan Ginsel and asked to borrow his TASCAM 122 cassette deck.

Today, we’re gonna hook the TASCAM up and continue the transfers onto the computer.

We’re also writing a new song and will probably be the final full tune for the Wanderer Awakening project.

Monday morning Podcasts

It’s Monday morning and I’m doing my Monday morning podcasts.

It’s something that I’ve been doing for a couple of years now for some companies here in Austin. I can’t tell you who they are or I would have to send Guido after you.

Basically it’s fairly easy and takes a bit of time, but it allows me to start my week off fairly easily while assuring that there is at least some income coming in for the week.

Things to do in the studio today include preparing a computer for mixing which will involve installing software, configuring and testing.

Other than that, it’s an easy day.

I’m still having trouble with the podPress plugin for Wordpress. It is not working properly.

It acts like it is working, but none of the podcasts that I put up here show up in iTunes.

I run a Joomla site on my http://www.LarrySeyer.com website and it’s plugin for podcasting is working perfectly… so I’m fairly sure it’s not me.

And the guy that makes the podPress plugin states on his website that users have been complaining about some problems with it… so my guess is that there are problems with the plugin and not the configuration.

Electric LarryLand Pictures

Electric LarryLand studio is located in Austin Texas.

Founded in 1995 by Larry Seyer , Electric LarryLand was originally intended as his own project studio.

However, it quickly grew into a full fledged mixing and mastering studio where many Artists have chosen to work.

Here are a few pictures of the studio taken when we remodeled a fews years ago.

Note: Click on the pictures to see a larger image. Computers and Speakers have been updated since these pictures were taken… .

The Ears of God

by Gary Powell
March 25th, 2003

“The Ears of God”

If world leaders were chosen by their ability to “hear”, Larry Seyer would be King of the World. Often times, the professionals who truly make the records fronted by celebrities are, in fact, judged just that way, by their ability to “hear”. That means hearing alternate melodies, harmonizations, instrumentation, mix decisions…..vertually every possible musical and electronic opportunity.

Knowing this little inside music industry fact explains how a boy raised in Oran, Missouri has become one of the most sought after recording engineers and session guitar players in Texas. If Texas isn’t big enough for you, check out who has called on Larry regardless. There’s Chet Atkins, Ray Benson, Shawn Colvin, songwriter Helen Darling (”Bring on the Rain”),The Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Johnny Gimble, Paul Glasse, Goldie Hawn, Tish Hinohosa, Eric Johnson, Lyle Lovett, Manhattan Transfer, George Martin, Reba McIntire, James Mitchner, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Lee Roy Parnell, Bert Rivera, Phillip Sandifer, Joe Scruggs, Dardin Smith, George Strait, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Steve Warner, Lee Ann Womack, Dwight Yokum, and the United States Air Force Band of the Rockies.

Now I suppose most people in Oran, Missouri used to scratch their heads when it came to the Grammy Awards. Not anymore. Larry has been either the recording engineer, the mixing engineer, or the guitarist on nine Grammy winning albums.

The mystery of Larry’s talent and work ethic can best be understood by his family’s policy of the old upright piano in the living room always holding favor over the television and radio.

It has been said that Larry Seyer has the “Ears of God”. He’s been proving it steadily since 1978 when he showed up in Austin. Maybe we have his parents and the old upright to thank for that. Regardless, Texas music has never been heard the same way again.

X-tra Long Bio

Larry Seyer was born in Augusta, Georgia at a make-shift Army Hospital while his Father “Lefty” was serving in the US Army during the Korean Conflict. Only there for six months, his Father was released from the military and his family of three returned to their native hometown of Oran, Missouri in June of 1952.

Lefty came from a family of thirteen and wanted a large family of his own. The small town of 1200 people was the perfect place to raise his and Ida Mae’s planned family of eight.

They wasted no time in starting their family and soon afterwards, Mary, Marty, Jane, Kevin, Anita, Robert and Bennett were born about one year apart from each other.

Their life was heavily influenced by the strong German Catholic contingency of that area. Although Oran had only 1200 people, it had the largest Catholic Church between St. Louis and Memphis. For a small town, this was a large church…large enough for it’s own Catholic grade school.

Lefty and Ida Mae were good parents to Larry and the rest of the kids. More than anything, they wanted to give each of their kids everything that could want or need. And they did that.

There was not much to do in Oran, however, except play baseball, tag, hide and seek, cops and robbers, cards, and an entire litany of normal things for kids that age.

The only problem was Larry wasn’t normal. He didn’t want to play baseball and other sports…he wanted to play music.

Thanks to his Mom and Dad (Lefty and Ida), there was a piano in the living room that anyone could play anytime any of their kids wanted to. And that piano had power.

The power it had was control…precedence over the TV and Radio. If one of the kids was watching TV or listening to the Radio, and one of the other kids wanted to play the piano, it was “bye bye” to the TV or Radio. The piano player had control over the entertainment the family listened to.

The same was true of the guitar. If one of the kids wanted to play the guitar, they could play ANYTIME they wanted (as long as it wasn’t past bed time).

Being the oldest of eight, this was the kind of garden Larry’s music seed needed to grow. Available instruments, a captive audience, and a willingness to be in control and learn.

Larry would come home every day after school and hop on the piano bench and be king of the living room. He could play whatever he wanted. He could make up songs as he went along, or play melodies that he heard before. It didn’t matter…it was fun…much more fun than going to Catholic grade school.

Many years of this scenario passed until Larry was in High School where he met other music friends and formed a band that played school dances and parties. Eventually they made their way to the nearby city of Cape Girardeau to make a recording.

Jim Rhodes was a short, thin, enterprising young school teacher who owned the recording studio in Cape. He knew more than Larry dreamed possible to know.

He knew which microphones to use on what instruments; what levels to record the drums; how the balance of instruments determined how the lead vocalist sounded…these were all things that Jim knew and Larry was in awe.

Larry just HAD to learn how to do those things. In his mind, knowing how to do those things was as necessary as learning how to tune a guitar or play a piano.

So had asked questions, thousands of them, and eventually spent almost all of his spare time with Jim at the studio learning what Jim knew.

The Vietnam war was raging during that time. Larry’s draft number was fifty-three so he was sure to go.

A friend told him that if he joined the Army, he could have his pick of what job he was to have in the Army. So, he joined for three years and pick the Army band as his job and served one year in Fort Leonard Wood Missouri and two years in Stuttgart Germany.

While in Fort “Lost In The Woods” (as they used to call it), Larry was put in charge of the recording equipment that they Army band had there. This was exactly what he needed…more toys to play and learn with.

After the year at Leonard Wood, Larry traveled to Stuttgart where he played in the Army band whose primary mission was to foster good will towards German/American relations. In other words, they drank a lot of German beer and played a lot of great music.

Back in the states, Larry went back to Cape only to find that Jim no longer owned the recording studio. He had moved onto Springfield and started working with “The Ozark Mountain Daredevils”.

This was a great opportunity for Larry, as this meant that he could now take over the studio there in Cape.

Never mind that he didn’t have any experience, he just wanted to be involved in any capacity with music, that it didn’t’ matter. He would learn whatever it took to do it.

When a friend of his called him to record a stage band, he was ecstatic. In his mind, he went through every connection, every mic, every track for every one beforehand so that when they got there, everything would be ready to go with no waiting.

The stage band was so impressed, that they told all of their friends about this “new engineer” in town that they HAD to use.

Word of mouth spread fast and soon there was plenty of work for him in Cape.

Around June of 1978, Larry had a chance to move to Austin Texas and continue the work he started in Missouri.

He met with Wink Tyler of Austin Recording Studio and began working there producing and engineering several local Austin groups.

Around 1986, Ray Benson from Asleep At The Wheel contacted him to work on an album he was producing. It was called “Asleep At The Wheel 10″. On that album was a song called “String Of Pars”.

The next year that song was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance. The song won the award and Larry was on his way to a successful relationship with Ray and the Wheel.

Soon after, The Wheel was at it again and recording the classic “Sugarfoot Rag” on their album “Western Standard Time”. In addition to engineering that album, Larry was asked to play acoustic guitar on the cut.

Again, as in the previous year, one of their songs was nominated for a Grammy under the category of “Best Country Instrumental Performance”. And again, as in the previous year, they won. Because he both engineered and played on the album, Larry was blessed with an Engineering Grammy AND a Musician Grammy.

Things were looking up, but there were other irons in the fire for Larry. In addition to being a full time recording studio engineer/producer/musician, Larry wrote software for computers.

Because of a prior commitment to a software contract, Larry was unable to participate in the recording of the Wheel’s next album “Keepin Me Up Nights”

As fate would have it, The Wheel did not win a Grammy that year. But thankfully, by the time it came time for the Wheel’s next project to be recorded, Larry was finished with the software contract he had been working on.

The project was a movie score for a movie starring Dolly Pardon, Gary Bussey, Willie Nelson, and Ray Benson.

Working closely with Ray Benson from Asleep At The Wheel and Dolly Pardon, who produced the show, Larry gained considerable experience in the film scoring arena.

After that movie was completed, several other people approached Larry to do their movie scores for them. Some of them wanted him to “mix” their movie. In movie terms, this is called “re-recording”.

Al Reinert was one of the first working on a small sixteen millimeter film called “For All Mankind”. At the time that Larry worked on this film, it was just a thirty minute documentary with actual footage from NASA covering our first trip to the moon.

Brian Eno had already done the score for “For All Mankind”, so there was no opportunity for Larry to work on the score. However, much to be learned from Al in the way of mixing films during that project.

Several months later, Sam Um contracted Larry to do the entire score for a picture he was working on called “The Way”. Basically, this picture was to be a Korean version of “The Karate Kid”.

Having the opportunity to score an entire picture by himself was a great way to instill confidence in a budding composer. And this confidence eventually led to his next scoring picture “El Puente”.

No sooner had he completed “El Puente”, than Ray Benson from the Wheel called and discussed an idea he had for a new album. It was to be a tribute album for the Father of Western Swing, Bob Wills.

More bio to come later…

——————————————————————————–

add George Martin stuff here

add Larry Gatlin stuff here

add Dixie Chicks stuff here

add Scoring stuff here

add NARAS stuff here

——————————————————————————–

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